The Blind Man
by Damhill
Summary: JJ is caught in a trap and kidnapped by a mysterious man. What's his plan and what will happen to her? Will the team be able to find and save her? An intriguing story has begun. WARNING: Some chapters may be considered violent.
1. Chapter 1

**AUTHOR NOTE: Hello everyone. This is my all time first story here on . I'm Portuguese, and not a fluent English speaker/writer, so I'm sorry for any mistakes and errors in my spelling and/or grammar. Reviews are really appreciated to help me improve.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or any of it's characters.  
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**And btw, when you finish reading this first chapter, tell me: Which of our CM girls do you think this story is about?**

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><p>She was heading home from her usual Saturday morning grocery shopping in the small market down the road. She was bringing to plastic bags full of cereals, cabbages, milk and a bunch of other stuff. Having the two hand occupied, she stopped for a moment from walking back home when her blue purse fell from her shoulder, and she needed to put it back in place, to be able to keep walking normally. That was when she saw a man with sunglasses and a black dog saying to apparently no one:<p>

- Hey, could you help me, please? I need to call my wife, but my phone ran out of battery. Please… I really need to make a call.

At first she ignored it, but she started noticing the man was trying that to everyone that passed by him. She realized the man was probably blind, so she decided to help him out.

Feeling her hand on his shoulder and her voice addressing to him, the man turned towards her:

- Oh, thank you so much. I thought no one was going to help me today! My phone ran out of battery and I need to call my wife so that she can come and pick me up. Could you help me?

- Of course, no problem, you just need to give me the number so that I can dial it and I'll let you speak with her. – She said.

The dog started smelling her, and she didn't really enjoy that. Somehow the man sensed she was uncomfortable about the dog's presence, so he said the dog wasn't harmful, that in fact he was pretty well behaved, and would only do what he'd tell him to do. But by some reason, that didn't comfort her. There was something about that dog that scared her, even though he looked sweet and cute. As a matter of fact, almost any dog would make her feel like that.

- Again, thank you so much! – He replied while looking for something in his pockets with his brown leather gloved hands. – I just need to find a card that I have here somewhere with her number, because I don't know it by heart. Oh, I guess I found it! Here… it says Anabelle and has the phone number, right?

- Yes it does. Let me dial it for you. - the woman said, taking the card on her hand. So she started dialing the numbers on her phone, clicked the "Phone" button and handled the cell phone to the man in front of her.

He made his call…

It might have taken one single minute, maybe two… but no longer than that. She was sure about it, but in those minutes she started feeling a weird weakness, like if her bones were now made of rubber. Her legs tried to stay standing, but every second passed it was harder to manage to do that and in those short minutes her whole body gave in. In the little time she had left conscious she tried, but she couldn't figure out what was happening to her. She didn't understand it. Then she looked up, and so the man standing there. _"What have you done to me?"_ – the words she tried to yell came out as nothing but a whisper, because everything around her was already fading away, and darkness settled in. In that last moment before closing her eyes, she just thought of one person, and how badly she didn't want to leave him, she couldn't.

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><p><strong>AN: Who wants to know more in the second chapter? I have it written, all I need is your "permission" to post it.<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: I'd really like to thank my first reviewers, it's really encouraging to read your comments! And as some of you have pointed out, correctly, yes, it is JJ :)**  
><strong>And as this is based mainly on JJ's character, I decided to put some more Will action on it. Enjoy.<strong>

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><p>Will was in the kitchen, Henry was still sleeping, so he decided to start making lunch. It would be a little gift for when JJ got back from the store. But the time passed and she was starting to take long, much longer than usual. At first he didn't really care, thinking she would probably stopped by some other stores or something, but after two hours of waiting he was getting worried. He tried to call her a dozen times but she wouldn't pick up, and that wasn't normal.<p>

So he opened the house door and knocked on the apartment in front of theirs. An old lady and her husband lived there, and it wasn't the fist time Will and JJ asked the couple to take care of their boy for a while.

He talked to the lady but didn't tell her the real reason he needed to go out.

- Hi Mrs. Robson! JJ needs some help with the groceries so I need you to watch out for Henry a few minutes, is that ok?

- Oh, of course my dear. – The lady answered.

The woman simply stepped out of her apartment, said "I'll be right back honey" to her husband that was sitting in the coach, and followed Will to his own apartment. Will took his keys and gave the spare ones to Mrs. Robson:

- Henry is in our room sleeping, hopefully he will stay that way 'till I get back. Make yourself comfortable Mrs. Robson. – after saying this he closed the door behind him, and went down the stairs in a hurry, at the speed of his accelerated heartbeats.

The first place he was headed was the grocery store he knew she usually went.

- Hi, good morning, have you seen my wife around, her name's Jennifer, she's blonde, with blue…

His description was interrupted by the owner of the store, an elder man who definitely knew who he was talking about; after all she was a regular costumer.

- Yes, Mrs. Jareau came here to buy some stuff an hour ago or so… She said she was going home. I guess she should probably be there already, don't you think?

"What kind of stupid question is that?" – Will though, but he didn't even bothered answering him. If she had been there an hour ago, there was no way possible she wouldn't have had time to get home. "Where are you JJ?"

He went out of the store and started looking around, his heart racing and the tears threatening to flood his eyes at any second. That was when he noticed what seemed to be an homeless man sitting in a corner on the other side of the street, between a trash can and a wall, with two white plastic bags and a navy blue purse beside him… A purse that looked exactly like the one Prentiss and Garcia had offered JJ last Christmas; exactly like the one she had left with earlier that day.

In that moment he snapped, running with his fists ready to hit something solid, he approached the man, lifting him up by the collar of his green and orange old and smelly jacket.

- Where did you get that purse, you sun of a bitch? Tell me where you got it! Where's my wife? – his voice came out sounding even angrier and more desperate than he was expecting.

- I… I… I don't know… I mean… Your wife? I don't… I don't know! I just took the purse, it was on the street, over there, I can give the money I took back! I didn't mean to steal, it was left behind, lost! So I…

- You found it here, abandoned? – Will asked, without letting go of the man's jacket.

- Ah… yeah… I just took it. Please don't call the cops, I'll give it back, and I'll tell whatever you want! – the poor man said with the fear rising on his look.

- Well, bad news, I am a cop!

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><p><strong>AN: I know, no team involved on this yet. But stay alert, cause they're on their way to the next chapter!<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Hey guys. I was just going to make this update in a few days but as I'm really glad I'm getting some reviews on this, and all asking for more, I decided to publish the 3rd chapter today still :)**  
><strong>Again, thanks to montydam, sugarhigh9394, CatCrimMindsFan, 22twilighter22 and crazyobsession101 for being my awesome first reviewers :D<strong>

**And as promised, here comes the team.**

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><p>It was the first time after three weeks that Aaron Hotchner had no case to work on on a Saturday, and hopefully the Sunday too would be free to spend all His time with his son Jack.<p>

And then, suddenly his phone rang. He went from the kitchen, where he was eating with Jack and his sister in law, to the living room to pick up the phone, each step praying not to see _"Penelope Garcia"_ written on the screen.

For his relief and surprise, instead of that name, he hoped not to read, was written _"Will LaMontagne"_. The first thought coming to his mind: _"Something happened to JJ"_. And he wasn't wrong.

- Hello Will. Is everything ok?

The tremor in the voice that arrived from the other side of the line surprised him even more.

- Hey Hotch. Sorry to be bothering you but I…. I think somethin' happened to JJ. She didn't came back home for lunch, and so I went looking for her and I found her purse … A homeless guy had it… I don't know where she is! I need your help. Can you come and meet me by our house please?

- Of course. I'll be there in 10. Take that guy you talked about with you. I'll call my team to meet us there as well ok? – Hotch replied.

- Please be quick…

Hotch quickly told Jessica what was going on and asked her if she could take care of his son, she nodded. He gave Jack a sweet kiss on the cheek and just told him he was sorry. Then he ran to his car. While driving he called the rest of the team, not giving much explanation, even he didn't know any details, just telling them to meet at JJ's apartment, "ASAP".

He picked up Reid on the way there, and they were the first ones to arrive at Will's front door. He was talking to an old lady in the hallway "Thank you Mrs. Robson. I'll take care of him know, you don't need to worry." The lady didn't look convinced but she nodded and went to her own apartment. Will made signal for the two men to come inside, where they saw the homeless guy sitting in the coach, balancing himself forward and backward.

A few minutes later all the others started to show up. Will, which was waiting for every one to arrive, started explaining what had happen earlier.

- What's your name, son? – Rossi asked.

- Out there they call me Finny. – said the homeless man.

- Did you see anything before you take the purse? You must have seen something.. – Rossi pressured, in his calm voice tone.

Pointing his finger towards Will, the panhandler exclaimed:

- At least you talk to me with a little more sympathy than that guy!

Will rampaged, he got up from the chair he was sitting and shouted out loud:

- Listen, you son of a bitch, my wife is missing and you are the closest to find her that I have! And you should be grateful that I didn't arrest you for kidnapping and theft yet!

Prentiss and Morgan held him back before he had the chance to attack Finny with a punch.

- Calm down Will! – Prentiss said.

Suddenly a cry started coming from the master bedroom. Henry woke up with all the yelling coming from the living room.

- I'll go entertain him. – Reid said, leaving to the bedroom.

From all of them, Reid was definitely the one that had spent more time in JJ's house. She was like a sister to him. Even after that argument about Emily's not-death, JJ was still his big sister, and after all, he was Henry's godfather or as she referred to him "Uncle Spence", and the little boy loved him.

- You have a son? – The homeless man asked.

- Yes… - Will sighed, starring at the floor, with his shoulders down.

Knowing the existence of a baby in the picture made Finny change his mind about what he was willing to reveal about what he had truly seen in that Saturday morning. – "I might have seen something…"

- Ok, tell us then! – Morgan said. Every eye on the room was now nailed in the man's eyes, waiting for something to come out of his mouth, something useful on tracking down JJ.

- I just didn't tell it before 'cause you were not very nice, and I was scared, and you…

- Just tell us what you've seen. – Hotch interrupted.

- Ok,ok, but I'm just telling this because of your son…!

- Go on man! – Morgan shouted, the irritation on his voice was clear.

Finally he started:

- Well, I was just wondering around that road looking for coins on the floor, sometimes I make really good money with what I find of the floor, people should be more careful with the coins. Anyway, at some point I notice this lady falling on the floor, a very well dressed pretty blonde lady.

- JJ… - Penelope sighed. She had been the entire time standing, biting her fingernails.

- I didn't think it was bad 'cause she wasn't by herself….

- You mean there was someone else with her? – Penelope asked frightened.

- Yeah… a man with sunglasses, and a dog… he picked her up, and I thought maybe they were friends or something.

- Can you describe him better? – Rossi questioned.

- I already told you… he was wearing sunglasses and he had a dog, like those blind people use, with that metal leash or whatever that is… and he had black hair, that I could see.

- Wait, so he was blind? – Prentiss asked, confused.

- No! Hell he wasn't. 'Cause when the lady fell on the floor he picked her up, no problem… and he took her by the shoulder to his car…

Then Morgan started putting the peaces together. Trying to do what he did best, profiling the unsub, to save his friend. – We have to assume he was posing as a blind man… that might have been how he managed to get JJ near him. Maybe he asked for help…

- Did you see something else, before her she had fallen on the floor, son? – Rossi asked.

- Well, no, I mean, it was all normal before that… He was talking on the phone, and she was just standing there, in front of him… I don't know what more I can say to help you…

- Her phone… - Will ran to JJ's purse he took from Finny's hands, and started looking for it inside. – Her wallet's here, and all her other stuff… but no cell phone! Did you take it Finny?

- What? No, I hadn't take anything.. I mean, I took a few dollars from her wallet, but no phone… no, no, no! But I'll give the money back! – The man started emptying his pockets and only a few bills came out.

- He took her, and her phone, but no purse… What the hell does he want? – Prentiss shared the thought.

Hotch had that look in his eyes that everyone respected:

- We should get going to the BAU, we need to work on this, right now!

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><p><strong>AN: My dear readers, I guess this will be exciting news for you: Next chapter is set with JJ and her abductor. <strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: So, here we are back to the real deal in this chapter. If you managed to read chapter 2 and 3, you'll have no trouble reading this one. Please review, I like when you review this :)**

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><p><em>"Damn, this was a good one!"<em> – he thought, rejoicing himself after his latest acquirement. This one was better than any other. He had to admit that he was lucky, from all the people passing by, she stopped. He had to admit was lucky.

Glancing at her smooth blonde hair he imagined the innumerous things he could do to her, but those things weren't his to choose. That depended on someone else's imagination. The only thing he knew for certain was that he would enjoy it, so much, probably more than he ever did before.

Forcing his mind out of his thoughts with a small slap to his own cheek he turned back to the present.

I'll have much time to think of the things I'll do to you, in fact, I'll have much time to do things to you. – he said to the still unconscious blonde that was laying on the back seat of his car. – But right know I still have much to do. You wouldn't want any flaw on our party tonight, would you? – he continued, with a smiled that covered his face from ear to ear and a evil glare in his eyes.

They weren't far from their destination, he looked at his watch, counting the time she had left unconscious. He had it all controlled, and she would be awake just in time.

The dog's barking felt like nails being hammered into her brain. The blonde woman couldn't fell her body, she tried to open her eyes but the light hit her with a burning pain, so she decided to keep them close for a while longer. She had no idea where she was, was she alone? Then suddenly she heard a car door opening and then steps, perfectly synchronized human steps followed by some hasty dog steps and that horrifying bark again. She tried to remember what happened to her: the blind man, the black dog, the phone call, the card with the number written… and then her heart shrank as she thought of Henry, she tried to remember when was the last time she had hold him in her arms, what time had passed since then? She missed that feeling…

That fucking bark again, and another car door opening, this time nearer to her head. She tried to open her eyes again, but it still hurt and all she could glance was a big blur. Then she felt her body being lifted by the shoulders and dragged out of the car. When her feet hit the floor she didn't almost didn't feel a thing, just heard the noise. While being dragged through the rocky ground she tried to move, she tried real hard to fight the hand that were pulling her, the tears invaded her eyes as she tried to scream and no single sound came out of her mouth and not a single muscle had the strength to set her free.

When she finally managed to open her eyes, the blur was still there, it wasn't so strong though. All she saw were trees…_ "He's dragging me to the woods…"_, her so feared woods. But then she saw a house, quite big and white, maybe it was a warehouse and not a house, she didn't know. Then she felt the hands that were pulling her let go, and her back and head hit the floor, driving her still weak body back to unconsciousness, one from which she would wake up to enter her most vivid nightmare.

He dragged her to a room in the back of the warehouse, where the "show" was going to happen.

Moments before he had seen her beautiful blue eyes and he wanted to see them again, to rejoice with the confusion and the fear in them. They all said they weren't scared of him, but he could sense it coming out of each pore of their soft women skin, he could see it in their eyes, all of it. _"Eyes are mirrors to the soul"_ and no one can hide what comes out through them.

The room was only illuminated by the lamp that hung from the ceiling. In the middle of it was a metal pole, all the way from the floor to the top, and welded to it, almost near the connection with the ceiling, where two iron chains with locks in the ends. Left on the floor, next to the pole, was a thick rope.

In the left side corner of the room was a small bed with only a blanket on top. On the opposite corner of the room was a table with a large computer screen, a keyboard and mouse on top and the CPU underneath. On the right side of the door, two meters distant from it, had been installed a camera, pointing directly to the pole, and behind it, the bed.

He carried her to the center of the room and then pushed her sleepy body up, by the hands. Pressing her against the pole, to keep her standing, he lifted her arms high and locked her wrists with the chains that where hanging there, as tight as he could. Her feet still touched the floor at ease, but she was still unconscious, so her body was pendant from her wrists. He knelt to tie her ankles together and to the pole with the rope on the floor. At least those few scout years had taught him something useful.

He stood on his feet again, shook the dust from his trousers and contemplated his prey, looking at her from top to bottom, her arms raised and her head resting on the left one, her blouse rose, leaving a tiny portion of her belly uncovered. His desire rising as he started undressing her with his eyes, imagining what was under those clothes. Once again, he had to force himself out of his thoughts.

Making a hundred and eighty degrees turn he got out of the room. It was time to feed _Rufus_, the black dog, and the other dogs as well. Two or three pieces of raw meat should be enough for now, he would give them more in a few days.

After feeding the dogs he went back to the room where he had left the unconscious blonde, hanging from the metal chains tied to her wrists. It seemed she was not so unconscious any more. He could hear the metal chains' noise. She was probably trying to get free, obviously in vain. As he entered the room her big blue eyes turned right at him and she froze. The same black haired man, with a not very dense beard that she had the good will to help, seemed now a different person, or maybe it was just because she never expected something like this could happen.

- What have you done to me? Where am I? How di…

Her questions were interrupted by another question, leaving her without any answers.

- Are the chains too tight? – he asked with a smirk on his face.

She glanced at him, anger all over her features. The chains were so awfully tight they were leaving her hands with no blood circulation.

Oh no, she wasn't going to play the game he wanted her to. She wasn't going to beg him to set her free or anything else, if that was what he thought. She wasn't going to give him that satisfaction. Instead, she decided to antagonize him:

- Guess you're not blind after all…

- I never told you I was. You just assumed that, only by the looks of it. – he replied as he moved closer to her, too close, she thought. She managed to control her instinct of trying to move away from him when he leaned forward, his nose almost touching her neck. Instead, she remained still has rock, her heart beating faster with the repugnance and fear rising inside her.

He smelled her, her perfume, her fragrance, "What a sweet fragrance". Then he stepped away again.

- I believe this is yours. - he said, taking a black object from his pocket.

- My… my cell phone!

- Thanks for letting me make that phone call by the way… - approaching to her right ear he finished the phrase, whispering: - FBI Agent Jennifer Jareau.

- How do you…? – she asked with a look of surprise in her face.

- I guess the work routine makes you wear this badge in your belt everyday, right Agent? – he said wagging her FBI badge on his hand – Anyway, don't have your hopes up, no one will find you, doesn't matter who you are, or to whom you work, 'cause they don't give a damn. They never do! Except when the clues are left right beneath their noses. But that's not the case here Jennifer.

Actually, the only thing comforting her in that moment was the certainty thet her team and Will wouldn't rest till they find her.

He went to the table in the other side of the room, turning on the computer. That was when JJ noticed the camera on the wall.

- What's all that for? Are you filming me to put on some damn freaks website? – She asked angrily.

- Something like that… You know, I could do whatever I want to you, right now. But I'm not that selfish. I like having a crowd, a participative one, actually. And you… oh you are today's attraction.

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><p><strong>AN: I've been updating quite fast this first 4 chapters, I'm afraid I wont be able to update this fast from now on, but I wont stop trying to be as fast as I can dear readers :D<em><br>_**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hello again my fellow readers and reviewers, well, first of all I have to tell you that I have chapter 7 almost finished, but I didn't start writing chapter 6 yet ( I know im weird, but oh well :P) I have to tell you his chapter (as well as chap7) was DAMN HARD to write, as I wanted to be really specific and a bit scientifically accurate, this involved some time lost in to try and make the story as flawless as I could I had to re-write it a several times :S**

**Anyway, If you have any questions about something, don't hesitate in sending me a PM ;)**

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><p>Meanwhile, in the BAU building:<p>

As they entered the bullpen Hotch quickly said:

- Garcia, go immediately to your computers, I need you to search anything that can be possibly related to any of what we've heard, anything mentioning criminals disguising as blind person, dogs involved… The team will be in the conference room analysing the facts, so help each other. I need to talk to Strauss about what happened.

The tech nodded and without further talking she disappeared into her office.

Rossi had stayed with Will in his house. Bringing JJ's husband to the BAU crossed the team's mind, but that would mean bringing Henry as well, and that would be good neither for the boy nor for them. That's why Rossi volunteered to stay with JJ's family, but he demanded to be informed at the slightest clue.

- Do you think JJ was targeted, that this is meant to have something to do with the FBI itself? – Morgan asked as he opened the door to the conference room.

- No, I really don't think so. If who ever took JJ was pretending to be blind, he was doing so to attract his victims near him, but he couldn't really control who would fall in the trap. What I think is that JJ was in the wrong place at the wrong time. – Hotch answered, clearing is throat before saying the last sentence. There was a strange look in his face, one that Morgan had only seen after Haley's death. – Anyway, I need to inform Strauss that this is happening and convince her to let us work on the case.

After saying that, Hotch too disappeared in the BAU's corridors. Morgan, Reid and Prentiss walked into the conference room. Reid looked particularly disturbed with what was going on, he was absent, his mind flooded with now horrifically looking statistics from abduction crimes towards women. Imagining JJ in those statistics was tearing him apart.

His thoughts were interrupted by Morgan's voice, as the older male put his hand on the younger's shoulder to comfort him.

- Kid, if we want to find her we need to take this as a usual case, we need to think this straight, just like we'd do if the victim wasn't our girl.

Reid, as well as Prentiss, nodded, agreeing that they had to remain focus. Almost an hour had passed when the phone on top of the desk rang. It was Garcia.

- Please tell me you got something for us, baby girl. – Morgan begged, putting the phone on speaker.

- This cotton candy brain of mine does not believe the amount of crimes committed by people faking to be blind! Most of them are just common stuff though. Wallets and purses thefts, cell phones robbed, a few more serious things involving physical aggressions in the middle.. a bunch of car jacking too… and that's most of it. – Garcia made a big pause in the end, what made the others fear there was nothing else she had to tell them.

- But…? – Prentiss tried her luck.

- But! – Garcia started again. A feeling of relief and hope filled the three profilers' souls. – I sure found something else. Maybe it's just me trying too hard to find common factors to these cases, but my heart tell's me this are related!

- Keep going. – Prentiss said as she leaned over the desk to hear every word of what Penelope had to say.

Garcia adjusted herself in her chair, waving her fluffy pink pen around, preparing herself to fill the team with what she had found.

- Ok, so this is what I found, – she started – three months ago, a woman reported a _suspicious action_. She said she saw a man dragging an allegedly sleeping woman to na alley where a car was parked with the back door opened. Seeing this, the woman said she ran towards the car screaming for someone to call the police and yelling the man to stop, but she wasn't fast enough and the man just pulled shove the girl inside the car and drove away before she was able to reach them or do anything. The saddest about this: The police didn't really take the case seriously, I'm betting because the girl that went missing was junkie and history of prostitution.

- That's sad. – Prentiss said, meaning it. – But Pen, I not sure we can assume this is related to JJ's abduction…

- Don't jump into conclusions without hearing all I have to say! – the brunette felt the resentful tone on Garcia's voice and was going to apologize but Garcia kept talking before she could say anything – The most interesting about this is that Ms. Greenwood, who reported the happening said she saw a black dog with the man. Reminds you of something? Plus, she points out the man was wearing sunglasses!

- Ok, that is something. – Morgan said, grateful they might have something to start working with – Baby girl, was the girl ever found?

- No my chocolate sweetness, no trace of her ever again, dead or alive. – Morgan hope fell a little. They were almost on ground zero again.

- But this isn't all! More recently Susan Grey gave entrance in the local hospital with paralysis to her torso and legs. Apparently it was only a temporary paralysis, only a few hours later she recovered from it and presented charges to the police, backed up by a friend that was with her that night, Caroline Winston. It says here that Susan was waiting on the street for her friend that had gone into a bar to buy cigarettes. That was when a man faking to be blind approached her, asking if he could make a phone call from her phone. She helped the man and next thing she knows, she was loosing her senses as the man grabbed her to prevent her from falling on the ground. His is when Caroline's point of view kick in: as she's leaving the bar, she sees the unknown man holding her unconscious friend and asks him what's going on. The man tells her he was just walking threw and saw her on the floor and decided to help, and laying the girl down on the floor again he quickly manages to avoid more questions and get away. No black dog involved on this one though. And I don't need to say that the police had no luck on identifying the suspect.

- Garcia did they make any blood tests to the girl? – Reid jumped in.

Looking quickly through the files on her screen she answered after a few seconds.

- It says here that they took blood samples to analysis to evaluate if the girl had been roofied or something, but has the doctors administrated her themselves some chemicals because of her paralysis the results weren't very conclusive. The only odd substance present was something called ketamine. – Garcia pointed out.

The look on Reid's face had both confusion and incomprehension, which told Morgan and Emily that there was something missing to make the click in his head, something important.

- And was there any injection marks on her body, or signs of that substance in her mouth or nostrils? – Reid asked again.

- Uh… no. Guess that was what made the doctors find the presence of that substance in her body so strange. – Garcia said while reading the hospital's report on her screen.

- Indeed. Ketamine is commonly used by veterinarians as an animal tranquillizer and as an anaesthetic in people in emergency situations. It causes loss of consciousness for about 15 to 30 minutes and sometimes in leads to temporary paralysis, but for that it would have to be injected on her blood stream or inhaled, which doesn't make sense.

- We need to find Susan Grey. She might help us figure this out. – Morgan Said.

As he said this, Hotch entered the room.

- Garcia send Susan's address to my phone. Hotch, you can come with me, I'll fill you in and call Rossi on the way. – Morgan said.

Hotch nodded and both of them left the room as Garcia said:

- It's coming to your phones right at this minute.

- Thanks baby girl! – Morgan shouted, already behind the room's closing door.

- Should we assume he's a vet, according to what you said? – Prentiss asked looking at Reid.

- There's a strong possibility I'd say – Reid answered – either that or he works in some place where he has access to it, an animal store, maybe a pharmaceutical company…

- Penelope, you know what you have to do. Search for places where ketamine is sold, produced and used in the area. Look for male black haired men, in their 30 to mid 40's. – Prentiss said – Until we know something else, this wont be easy. _"Hang in there JJ"_ she thought, thinking of her best friend as a tear threatened to fall from her eyes.

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><p><strong>AN: I hope you're not losing your patience with this story, I know this chapter was quieter and didn't have many strong feelings, emotions, angst and all that I know thrills you, but I have to make the case part as well, so that you guys know exactly how this goes :)**

**To reward you, the next chapter will make up for it! Just wait around and see :D**  
><strong>(not sure when i'll update, but i'll try to do it as fast as possible!<strong>


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I thought of not making any author's note on this one, cause I don't really have much to say about this chapter. But anyway, thanks for all the reviews and I hope you keep reviewing *.* I like hearing your opinions.**

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><p>JJ didn't know for how long she had been in there, hanging by her arms, but her fists were so numb she couldn't feel them.<p>

Her captor had left the room after turning on the computer and the camera and hadn't come back since. She could see the filming of herself on whatever website that was and entries popping up on what looked like a chat box at the side on the video streaming, though she couldn't read what was written.

Suddenly the man walked in the room again. He was wearing a ski mask only with his eyes and mouth exposed. JJ looked at him and decided to provoke him.

- You know, if you were wearing that ridiculous thing in your face earlier I'd have come to you even easily, only it would be to make a fourth hole in there with a bullet! – She said with a smirk.

He reacted to her provocation and came closer to her, his hands landed around her neck, squeezing it.

- If I were you, I'd behave. Let's see if in a few hours you'll still be so provocative, agent. – he said, smiling and then letting go of her neck.

Passing a hand through the blonde's hair he continued:

- I like you, agent. I'll try and be as nice as I can to you today, but you have to cope, ok?

JJ didn't move a muscle. She kept staring at him, with anger all over her deep blue eyes.

- Now, let's check what I'll be doing tonight. – And as he headed over to his computer, JJ could hear the small laughter coming from his lips.

He turned to face her again, and without her seeing it coming, he punched her stomach, causing her to gasp in pain as she bent over all that her restraints allowed her.

She lifted her head up just in time to receive the left hand punch that hit her straight in the nose. An unbearable pain streamed through her body as she heard it crack and felt the tang of blood in her lips.

- What the fuck…? – She said, looking up again at the grinning man in front of her, stroking his left hand knuckles with the right hand.

- I'm sorry Jenny, but they were the ones who asked for it. – he said making a fake pity stare at her.

- Who the hell are they? – JJ yelled, regretting to have done so the second after as the man moved in her direction grabbing each side of her blouse's collar.

- Well, your fans Jenny. – he whispered onto her ear.

Then he pulled her blouse with both hands, causing the buttons to fly in every direction, and leaving her white bra and her belly exposed. He ran his fingers from her neck down to her stomach, where a bruise was already forming, then he moved them to her back as he pressed his body into hers, kissing and licking her neck. A look of disgust invaded JJ's face as she tried in vain to release herself from the chains and ropes, and especially from the man pressing her against the pole.

- Get off of me! – she shouted desperately, and for her surprise he did so.

His eyes locked with hers, in a wolf and lamb kind of way, and JJ could swear his eyes turned red in that moment, causing chills up and down her spine. Only after she realized the red glare in his eyes was a reflection coming from something that he had picked from the floor seconds before. It was an electric branding iron. She hadn't notice it, but it had been heating up for a while now. The irons head was now red as fire. Understanding what he was going to do with it, she started panicking.

- No, no, no! – watching him come towards her with the branding iron in hand, she did, for the first time that night, what she had promised herself she wouldn't at any cost. – Please, don't do that! No!

He ignored her begging and craved the iron deep in her skin right under her right breast, in her ribs. She creamed out loud, her eyes wide open, looking at the ceiling, involuntarily asking for some kind of relief to that pain. Two tears fell to her cheeks and she clenched her teeth as her torturer kept craving the heated metal deeper into her flesh.

When he finally took it off, the pain was even more excruciating as she felt bits on skin and flesh being ripped along with the iron. The tears of pure pain were falling through her face uncontrollably and she couldn't stop sobbing.

He cleaned the blood and tears in her face and licked them from his fingers, smiling.

- You're sick! – she said, not being able to look him in the eyes this time.

The man laughed at her and went back to the computer for a while. JJ tried to forget the pain her body was feeling and concentrate her efforts on one thing, _"It's impossible to get rid of this chains, but maybe I can get free from the ropes. C'mon JJ, he's not looking now, you can do this."_

- Don't get bored Jenny, we're not finished yet. – the man said, turning back to her again.

_"C'mon JJ! Oh God please, give me a hand in here!"_ She kept trying to get free of the ropes tying her feet, not bothering anymore with the fact that he was looking at her. Then suddenly she felt it, one of the loops got through her ankle to her sole. She tried not to make any expression that would make him suspect anything and she carefully kept trying to get her legs free. _"I'm almost there… c'mon"_

- Oh I'm not bored – she said to distract him and at the same time to get him closer to her. – I'm dying to see what's coming. Actually I think I know what's coming next. – he did exactly as she wanted.

- Really? And what is it then, Jenny? – he asked smirking.

- You crawling on the floor like a little rat! – She shouted, kicking him in between his legs with all the strength she had. Her captor got back a few steps, with a growl recoiled and knelt with his hand grabbing his now "damaged material".

JJ knew she wouldn't go far with that attempt, but at least she would show him who he was dealing with, and embarrass him in front of his "audience". She couldn't avoid the little pride smile in her face.

- You little bitch! – He yelled as he got up and ran towards her.

She fought back, trying to kick him with her legs, but he managed to evade the kicks, and made JJ stop fighting as a cold blade reached her neck.

- One more of your fucking kicks and I'll cut your throat open. – he said, strangely calm.

The angry look in her eyes just became stronger. She wanted to keep fighting him, but as he pressed the knife harder to her neck, she obeyed.

He then let go but, punishing her for her action, he stuck the knife in her right leg. Another loud scream filled the room as tears invaded her eyes.

- Now, don't you dare moving or I'll plunge it somewhere else! – he said, taking the knife off her now bleeding leg and kneeling down to tie her ankles together again, even tighter than before.

When he finished he pressed her against the pole with his own body again and held the knife near her cheek, stroking her face from cheek to chin with the bloody blade.

- You know, they want to see more of your blood – he said, softly moving the knife's blade through her other cheek as well – Craving little bastards, aren't they? – he asked laughing at her wide open blue eyes and startled breathing.

JJ didn't say a word, she stared deep in his eyes, trying not to seem scared or weak.

- So, I can't tell them no, but if you apologize for that little incident I can be very gentle. – he said as the smile on his face disappeared and an angry stare took it's place. – Say you're sorry Jennifer.

No word came from JJ's mouth, which triggered something on the man that she hadn't seen on him till that moment. He laughed again slowly moved the knife's sharp edge to JJ's arm, cutting her skin from her elbow all the way to her armpit as he said again:

- Say you're sorry sweetheart.

JJ closed her eyes and grinned her teeth, trying to deal with the ache. When he stopped she reopened her eyes and, looking back at him, she answered with one single word:

- Never!

She knew it wasn't the wiser thing to say, but no way would she give in to his demand. She had already begged once, she wasn't going to give him that satisfaction again.

As she expected, her captor snapped when he didn't get the answer he wanted and, obviously, she was going to pay for it.

_"One, two, three, four,…"_ She started counting but with all the suffering flooding every inch of her body she lost count of the number of punches, pokes and kicks he gave her. Her lungs were desperately trying to find space to breath as her rib cage seemed to be shrinking at each blow that hit her.

Her nose started bleeding again, and her right eyebrow slit open with the last thump of his "combo". _"The mother fucker is left handed"_ she thought before her body shut down from all the wounds and pain.

- I warned you to behave, Jenny. – He said to the now unconscious and beaten body in front of him.

The "Blind Man" tipped one last message before disabling the chat box for that night: _"The action returns at 5:30pm. I'll be waiting for your suggestions."_

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><p><strong>AN: So what did you think of this chapter?**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hey guys! I'm really really sorry for only uploading now. I know it as been an entire week since the last upload, but my exams came, and at my university home I don't have internet now, so I couldn't post anything. In the next few weeks I won't be able to upload as fast as I wished, because I really have plenty things to study :S But I won't give up on this story and on you! As soon as I have some time free, I'll write one more chapter! **

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><p>When he was typing that message on the computer, he looked at his hands. Her blood was all over them, mixed with his own. He turned away from the computer, and stared at the still not awake blonde. He grabbed a rope and a white cloth that were on top of the desk and walked towards her. The man stared at JJ's body; the bruises he created all over her were now starting to assume vivid colors. He smiled slightly, remembering her face at each painful blow. He then noticed the deep cut he had inflicted on her leg. It was still bleeding.<p>

He reached the button and zipper on her pant, opening them, and pulling the fabric all the way down. Then he grabbed his knife, with which he had stabbed her earlier, and cut through the material so that he could get rid of it. He moved his hand through her leg, stopping at the deep bleeding wound. _"I don't want you to loose all your blood like this, Jenny. We still have many things to do together…"_ he said in his thoughts. Putting the knife on the floor, he took the cloth out of his pocket and tied it tight around her leg, over the wound. In a few second the white fabric became red, but the cut started to bleed less. After doing so, he untied the rope on her ankles, and tied just her feet together again, releasing them from the pole. He then got up on his feet and reached to the lockets that were binding the chains to her hands, and with a key, he opened them. Soon as he did that, he held her unconscious body, preventing it from falling on the floor. He picked her up and dropped her on the small bed in the room. Using the other rope, he tied both of her hands to the bed's headboard.

- Rest sweetheart, rest… - he said, with a smirk.

The man left the room for the rest of the night, leaving JJ lying in the bed, with the lights on and the camera still filming her.

A small beam of natural sun light came from a tiny window on the other side of the room, pointing right at JJ's eyes. That ray of light woke her up. Something was different. She opened her eyes to see herself lying on that bed, now almost naked. Panic struck her. _"Oh God, did he rape me?"_

She tried to move, but her body refused to do so, it was too painful. In that moment she was sure she had at least one broken rib. Why did he lay her down in the bed? That was the question that was intriguing and confusing her. She was scared of what he might have done to her while she blacked out. She lifted her head up once again and noticed the bandage on her leg. _"Great, he wants me to die even slower!"_ One big tear slipped down her eye when she thought she was going to die there, without ever seeing her team, Will or Henry again. She couldn't let her hopes disappear. She had to stay strong, but it was getting harder at every minute.

A few hours had passed when suddenly she heard foot steps. Her captor entered the room moments after, still wearing the ski mask he was wearing the night before.

- Good morning, Jennifer. – He said, smiling at her.

- What have you done to me? – She asked right away, suppressing her fear and worry and gazing him angrily.

- What do you mean? You were here too, I think you probably remember each blow better than me, actually. – He said, now almost laughing.

- No, I mean, after I blacked out! Why am I on this bed? – she tried to move up on the bed but a shudder of pain travelled down her body, making her change her mind and stay still.

Understanding what her concern was, he decided to play with her, not revealing that in fact, he hadn't done nothing to her, although he wished he had.

- I told you I liked you, Jenny. You were losing a lot of blood so I stopped the bleeding with that little cloth and laid you down for you to rest. I want you all fresh and new for today. Now, come on, let's get up!

He moved towards her and untied her hands from the bed's headboard, keeping them tied together though. Like lifting up a feather, he grabbed her and took her near the pole again. JJ didn't even try to fight. She knew she was too weak for that, and it would probably just make it worse, like it had done before.

- Where…? Are you chaining me up there again? – She asked. Although the thoughts of what might have happened in that bed terrify her, lying there was not so painful like being chained up to that pole.

- Yup… - He said as he let go of her feet, causing her to release a loud scream when they hit the floor. – Just stay still and don't try to do anything stupid!

He pulled her arms up and locked them by the wrists again with the pending chains. That brute movement made all her body to ache. The blonde clenched her teeth with the pain. Only after having the chains tightly locked around her wrists the man removed the rope from her hands.

JJ needed to know if he had in fact raped her or not. So she tried again:

- Why did you take my pants off?

Amused with the preoccupation on her voice, he turned to her, touching her belly and rubbing his hand onto her back while his other hand now caressed her face.

- You are right to be worried with that, 'cause I'd love to fuck you, Jenny. I'd do so many things to this pretty body of yours in so many ways. But, I don't have you here for that, fortunately for you.

Hearing his words she felt relieved. But, at the same time, she feared for what was yet to come. For some reason he wasn't going to rape her, but for sure he was going to keep hurting her, that was as clear as water.

- So, you might as well worry with the rest of the things that I can do to you, but not with that. – he continued.

- I don't fear you! You won't get that from me, even if you kill me! – she yelled.

He stepped backwards, passing his hand through her face, grabbing and shaking her chin one last time before letting go. And then he answered:

- Oh, I don't need your fear, sweetheart. I might be able to control your emotions, but there is one thing that you can't control, and that is more than enough for me. That's what makes me do these things to you. That's called pain.

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><p><strong>AN: I wasn't going to make this chapter, and move right on to the team's developments, but as that chapter involves more work and searches, I decided to do this one, so that I wouldn't take even more time to upload the next chapter. Hope you like it, and don't forget to review =)**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hello guys, again, I'm really sorry for the long time between updates :S** **I noiced the last chapter had less reviews then the other, is it because some of you gave up reading it? =(**  
><strong>I hope you notice that this chapter starts before the last two, I guess you could work that out after reading the first two phrases, but anyway, I wanted to make things really clear :D <strong>

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><p>The night had settled almost two hours ago. As JJ's torture was about to begin in a distant warehouse, Morgan and Hotch's frustration was increasing all those miles away, because they weren't able to meet and speak with Susan Grey, the person that, if they were right, was the nearest they had to find their co-worker and friend. Susan's roommate told them she went out of town to see her parents and was only coming back the next morning. For JJ that could already be too late, and that scared both profilers.<p>

The two men went back to the BAU to join the rest of the team. None of them wanted to go home, so they all stayed there, trying to figure something out that would be useful.

They had no idea of the horrible torture and pain JJ was going through in those around midnight hours. They had no idea how truly terrified she was. But they knew that whatever was happening to her, she had her hopes on them, _her_ team. And none of them wanted to let her down. None of them was willing to loose her.

Garcia's searches had too many entries to conclude anything. She needed something to narrow it down, and they weren't finding that something. No profiler was needed to detect their stress and increasing preoccupation with JJ. The concerned faces and the hands sliding over their owner's hair and forehead were all over the room.

The morning came, and their blank night had brought no developments to the case. Exhaustion was starting to stumble in, but no way were they going to let it, not before they found JJ. Morgan had fallen asleep two hours earlier in a chair though, with his head between his arms on top of the desk. He was suddenly awakened by his cell, vibrating on his pocket. The number was unknown, but he answered anyway. It's was Susan's roommate, to whom he had given his phone number that night in case Susan came back home. Morgan quickly stood up from his chair whilst he hung up the phone.

- Susan is home already. We can go talk to her. – Morgan said, informing the team.

- Take Reid with you, Morgan. I'm sure we'll spare us some time if he's the one doing the questioning with you. – Hotch said, making signal to Reid to go with Derek.

In only twenty minutes they arrived to Susan's shared apartment. The 27 years old girl welcomed them in, and they started asking questions straight away. They talked for a while about Susan's case, about what what had happened to her, but nothing that they didn't already know.

- Susan, let's go back to that night. – Morgan said, trying to find something relevant in all that. – I want you to remember the moment when he showed up. What did he tell you?

- He… He told me he needed to call a friend to pick him up because he had lost his usual bus, and didn't know which other to take.

- And what did you do? – Morgan asked.

- I told him I'd help. He gave me a card with a number written on it for me to dial, so I did and then handed him my phone. He was talking to his friend for like a couple of minutes or so when I started feeling dizzy and my legs weakened. Then I only remember waking up at the hospital. – Susan answered.

- Did he ever touch you, or got near your nose or mouth? – Reid intervened.

The girl thought that question was a bit awkward.

- What? No, I mean, not before he held me when I lost consciousness!

Suddenly it all made sense in Reid head. The only contact they shared was through the card. Reid asked her if the man was wearing gloves. She thought for a while and then nodded, still not understanding why that was relevant. Morgan had the same confused face.

- I need to call Garcia! – the doctor said standing from the couch and walking back and forth as if that way he'd prevent his theory from escaping.

- Why? What's up kid? – Morgan asked confused.

Reid grabbed his cell phone and dialed Garcia without even bothering to explain what he had figured out to Morgan in that moment. The tech answered.

- Garcia, I need you to check something on Susan's blood test's report. – he said making an effort to slow himself down for the words to flow correctly.

- Spit it out my beloved genius. – Garcia replied from the other side of the line.

- Is there any trace of a substance called DMSO in there? – Reid enquired.

Reid was able to hear her typing quickly on the keyboard. A few seconds after the answer came.

- Uh, uh! Yes it is beautiful. But why? Is that abnormal? It isn't flagged out in here.

- I'll explain it to you when we get back there. Thanks Garcia. – Reid said before hanging and returning the cell phone back to his pocket.

Both Morgan and the girl were looking at him, waiting for the explanation.

- Ok kid, can you explain what the hell is going on? – Morgan asked, one eyebrow cocked upwards.

- Dimethyl Sulfoxide, commonly named DMSO, it's a substance with many applications in medicine. And that's probably why it wasn't flagged in the blood tests. – Turning to Susan he continued – But I'm guessing it wasn't on your blood stream because they gave it to you in the hospital. It was on your blood stream because you touched that card! DMSO penetrates the skin very easily and can carry other compounds dissolved in it into the organism. The card was impregnated with both DMSO and ketamine. That's how he managed to get it in your system, that's why you passed out.

"Only Reid to figure something like this out" Morgan thought while trying to organize the ideas in his mind.

- So the card is the key to all this… - Morgan said thinking aloud, and then something else popped up in his mind. – Susan, besides the number, did the card have any other thing written or printed on?

She remained in silence for a while, mouth fully open, still processing what their were saying and asking.

- I.. I don't know… It was dark and… I don't know! – She said, tense.

- Think carefully. Just close your eyes and go back to the moment when he handed you the card and you looked at it.

She did as Morgan was saying, and then he continued.

- Did the card have any other thing written?

The brown haired woman thought for a while, eyes closed, brows furrowed. Like no answer was coming from her mouth, Morgan tried to pressure a little more.

- Susan, if there was anything else on that card it might help us save a woman's life. Please, focus. – He knelt in front of her, taking hold of her hand. – What was written on the card besides the phone number?

After a few seconds the expression on her face changed. The tension on her forehead vanished as her eyebrows rose.

- Yes, there was something on the card! But it weren't words. It was a symbol, some kind of logo or something. I remember it because I found it a bit weird when I saw it.

Morgan looked at Reid, who returned the gaze. That could either be important or insignificant. For JJ's sake they hoped it would be the first option.

- Can you describe it? – Reid asked.

- Yeah, I guess. – Susan said.

Reid burrowed a pen and a blank paper sheet from Susan and sat down to draw what she was about to describe.

- The card was yellowish white and the symbol was printed in a light wine red. It looked like a round cage with a bird inside, a dead bird, on the cage's floor. And behind the cage was like a face, covered with a sheet, you know, like a phantom, and two holes in it, looking like two evil eyes. That ghost-like face was coloured with a slightly darker red, I think.

Reid drawn a sketch of what the girl was saying, they talked some details out till the girl say it was very similar to the symbol on the card.

The Doctor sent a picture of the drawing to Garcia, to see if she could find some information about it. And then they left Susan house to drive back to the BAU.

While both of them were in the SUV driving back to the office, Morgan was getting really impatient.

- C'mon kid, aren't you supposed to remember and know everything, have you never seen that freaking logo anywhere?

An upsetting frown etched itself across Reid's face. Was Morgan somehow blaming him for them not being able to get any leads on the case?

- Morgan, I have an eidetic memory, I remember everything I see or read, I'm sorry if I've never seen this!

Morgan noticed he had spoken with a tone that was a little too grumpy.

- I'm sorry, Reid. It's just that I'm getting desperate as we aren't able to find anything to help us find JJ. It's killing me.

- It's killing us all. – Reid answered, with a low, drained voice.

When Morgan and Reid got to the bullpen they were surprised to see Rossi and Will there with Hotch and Prentiss. They approached them and complimented. Will looked like a worse-then-dead zombie. His eyes swollen, the white parts now dyed red from the lack of sleep and probably from the tears as well, and he looked skinnier than ever. Rossi on the other hand, looked just the same as they left him the day before. Hotch had his empty, no apparent emotion gaze. And Emily was totally lost in her thoughts, with a expression Morgan couldn't really decipher.

- What are you guys doing here? – Morgan asked towards Rossi and Will.

Rossi voice, unlike his looks and posture, sounded tired and particularly gloomy. And the words constructed in his vocal chords left the two just arrived men with their eyes widened.

- I've seen that symbol before. And as far as I know, it's definitely not good news. JJ is in real danger, and I don't know how much time we still have to save her, considering she's still alive.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for the late upload. I'll make it up to you this week, as my exams are over now and I have more time to write :) Hope you enjoy.**

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><p>"I've seen that symbol… JJ is in real danger and I don't know how much time we still have to save her… considering she's still alive." Rossi's words echoed in Morgan's brain, fighting their way in as he refused to make total sense of them.<p>

- What do you mean? – Reid asked promptly, his eyes wide open, his jaw down, and concern all over his face.

Glancing Prentiss through the corner of his eyes, Reid could see the small tears falling from the brunette's cheeks as she quickly and discreetly wiped them with her thumb.

Then, Rossi's husky voice filled the air.

- Some years before I re-joined the BAU, I helped a History and Social Anthropology Professor from the University of Kansas writing his book. The book he was writing was about secret societies that concealed criminal ritual between their members. I helped him understand the human being's behavior related to his researches.

- But what does that have to do with any of this? – Morgan asked. He feared he already knew the answer.

- In his book, Professor Nelson Miller mentions many secret organizations that have, according to his researches, criminal rituals, including murder, torture and human sacrifices of innocent people. Organizations that go from the big and known ones like _ to never-heard-before ones. It was on his book that I saw that symbol, just like Reid drew it! After seeing the somehow familiar symbol I called Professor Miller and described it to him. It belongs to a secret society named "Caging Ghosts Society" – Rossi explained, and then he added – Garcia already pulled out all the information on Nelson's book about this society, she's waiting for us in the conference room.

They headed to the conference room where Garcia was standing with her tablet in hand and the interactive board's remote in the other. The rest of the team and Will sat down in the chairs in front of the round table. And without delay Garcia started briefing them.

- So here's what Professor Miller wrote about these creeps. As almost any secret society, the Caging Ghosts Society's members don't ask in, they are invited in. And it has got like this kind of hierarchy. On top there are the 'Grand-Masters', the elder members on the society, who are seen as some kind of gurus. They are the only ones that can invite new members in and have a bouquet of privileges. Then we have the 'followers', a larger group where members that have proved themselves faithful and competent recline. And then there are the "Ghosts", the members that still have to prove themselves, to pass through a bunch of rituals and tasks.

- Ok, but what exactly do those tasks and rituals consist in? Do they gather up and torture people? – Emily asked. The idea frightened her.

- Based on Miller's writings they are not much of gather around the table, face to face community. The society works mainly online, on the societies supposed website. This is where the creepy part starts. According to Miller, all tasks are filmed and posted online so that all the other members are able to watch and… - she swallowed, – tell what they want to be done to the victim.

- What? The guy who kidnaps the victim receives online commands from the other with what he has to do? – Morgan asked confused – Isn't that a bit strange? You said a while ago that the point of all that was for them to prove themselves capable. It's not very hard when you have others telling you everything you have to do!

Reid had been sitting in silence while reading the online copy of Nelson Millers book. After Morgan's indignation he had already finished it, and decided to help Garcia explaining.

- That's actually the whole point of it. It's all about self-control and obedience. That's why it's not the unsub that decides what to do with the victim, but he has to resist his impulses and do what the others say, when they say it. But this isn't all these tasks are about. Their goal is to build the killer's signature, his identity within the society.

- How is that possible if the kidnapper has no free will on what to do to his victims? – Prentiss asked.

- Their identity isn't built around what they do, but to whom and how they do it. – Hotch intervened. Reid nodded in agreement. – He has no free will over the torture he inflicts, so the MO is built on the little things he _can_ control: His preys, his way to catch them, the tools used and finally the way to end the victims life, after the torture.

Will, who was sitting aside from Emily and Rossi, began to feel nauseous. The thoughts of what those freaks could be doing to his wife were making him want to throw up. He managed to ask the one question that mattered to him, and to which he wished to hear a negative answer, but was sure he wouldn't:

- Are we sure the guy that took JJ is from this society?

Only after his question reality hit the team. They were all talking about hypothetic victims, but this wasn't a case with hypothetic victims: JJ was the victim here.

Hotch nodded. His effort to look serene wasn't very convincing. JJ was really dear and important to him, he was having trouble to do the thing he trained himself to do every day: show no emotion if he wanted to.

- Garcia how are we on the website matter? – Rossi asked. From the moment he knew what the society was about, he asked Garcia to trace down the website.

- I'll need some more time… I'm sorry. – Garcia answered uneasily. – I'll go back to my office to see if I can speed it up.

As they all nodded, she quickly stepped out the door, to her office. The others stayed discussing some details and trying to make sense of it all.

It was already 2:30 pm and they hadn't had lunch. Morgan went to buy some burgers and coffee for all of them. He went to Garcia's office to see the girl typing furiously through her keyboard. He placed her food on the desk whilst she thanked him. Then he got back to the conference room, where the others were, eating and talking out their ideas.

Frustration was thumping more than ever. The thought that JJ could already be dead terrified them.

One hour had passed when the phone on top of the table rang. It was Garcia.

- Speak up Garcia. – Hotch said as he clicked the answering and speaker buttons.

- Sir, I found it! I found the website! - Garcia yelled.

No other word was needed. As runners responding to the sound of a marathon's pistol shot they all got up and made their way to Garcia's office.

As they entered the tech's office, they saw, on the main screen, in the center of the room, the same symbol Reid drew earlier, and beneath it were four words: "Caging Ghosts Society: ENTER".

- I found it my gummy bears, but I'm too scared to click anything else. I'm scared to see… - the words stopped flowing as she started crying in panic.

Morgan ran to her, holding her tightly in his arms.

- Calm down baby girl, you've done an awesome job. I don't know how you did it, but I'm sure no one else would be able to do it as good as you. – he gently smiled, but not even that made her feel any better that time.

Then Will approached her from behind and said:

- Penelope, we can still find JJ. I… I know she's alive. I can feel it. Don't give up now.

Garcia nodded. The sadness in that man's face was bigger than any of theirs. She and all the others loved JJ as if she was family, but Will, he loved her more than anything, he lived for her and he would die for her, Garcia didn't need to be a profiler to see that.

Adjusting herself in her chair again, and trying to push her fears to the back of her mind, she focused on the screen again.

- Go on Garcia. – Morgan said softly, placing a hand on her shoulder to encourage her.

At his touch Garcia clicked the logo. As expected, it was encrypted and password protected. The tech typed some commands on her computer and in less than three minutes she was in.

Suddenly they all felt like the ground beneath them had been hit by a massive earthquake.

- Oh God! – Emily said whilst covering her mouth with both her hands, in shock.

The rest of them simply froze.

On the screen, hanging by her stretched arms, full of bruises, cuts and what looked like a deep burn mark on her abdomen, only in her underwear, and covered in blood, was their friend, JJ.

Garcia immediately got up from her chair, turning away from the screen and diving her head into Morgan's chest, who embraced her in his arms without taking his eyes off his beaten up friend on the monitor.

- Is she…? – Reid asked, fearing the worst of the scenarios. But Hotch promptly moved his head in a negative indication.

JJ was the only person in the video frame. Her head down, with her blonde hair covering almost all of her face as she seemed lifeless. Only with a careful stare it was possible to detect her chest moving at each breath and a shudder passing through her lips, from time to time, probably due to all the pain her body was feeling.

Next to the video window, on the right side of the screen was a chat box with a title in red letters against the black background: "The action returns at 5:30 pm, I'll be waiting for your suggestions."

- Is this streaming live? – Morgan asked, pointing at the screen with his hand trembling. His forehead wrinkled with shock and concern.

He felt Garcia's head moving up and down against his chest in a sign of "yes".

- So does that mean we have… - Morgan checked his watch before finishing his question, the digital numbers marked 3:40 pm – less than two hours to find that sun of a bitch before God knows what else happens to JJ? – He passed one hand through his bold head. That was a question he didn't need an answer for.

- That Miller guy was right. He really does whatever others tell him to… - Will said, turning everyone's attention to the chat box.

As they read, their eyes widened. "Let us see her underwear, man!", "Brand that cow!", "Make her bleed", "I want some more ribs cracked!" and many other horrific orders were written, and looking to JJ's appearance, all of them had been followed.

Will leaned against the office's closed exit door and slid all the way down to the floor, placing his head in between his bent knees whilst tears invaded his face.

Morgan and Hotch's fists were clenched with anger.

Garcia sat back on her chair and her fingers quickly danced through the keyboard. They all waited in silence to see what the tech doing. A few minutes after, she started mumbling something between closed teeth as she was getting really frustrated and disappointed with herself.

- What's wrong Garcia? – Hotch asked.

- The IP changes in a matter of seconds! As soon as I think I have it, it changes. It's not hosted in the US, and… It's creating mirrors like crazy and I can't stop it! – The pitch in her voice was higher than ever.

- And what does that mean in simple English? – Morgan asked as he had no idea what the tech had just said.

- It means I can't trace it down! – she said, her eyes flooded with tears again – I can't find him, any of them!

- Calm down Penelope, we'll find a way. – Rossi said to calm her, and all the others down.

They were all desperate. Desperate to find the guy who did that, desperate to find JJ, desperate to save her from the hands of that vicious society.

Prentiss, out of the rest of the team, was the one that had a closer idea of what JJ had been through. The torture, the pain, the hope running further and further at each second, she knew what it was like. She thought she had experienced enough of all that, and suddenly, watching the blonde agent through that computer screen, she could see by far that JJ's suffering must had been a lot worst than she had ever acknowledged. And if they didn't find her, JJ was going to suffer even more. They couldn't let that happen, she couldn't let that happen.

As they were all in silence trying to think things straight, Morgan looked at his watch, "4:13 pm". "Why does time go by so quickly when we need it?", he thought to himself.

- He's a sadistic son of a bitch! – Morgan shouted whilst wondering around the room in circles, looking at the ceiling. – How are we going to catch this guy?

Unexpectedly Reid walked from the far end of the room, where he had been for most of the time after seeing JJ on the computer screen, quickly to the back of Garcia's chair, leaning forward to the screen, semi closing his eyes as he focused on a little detail on the capture in front of him.

- I might have an idea. – He said, still focused on the screen.

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><p><strong>AN: Oh, btw, has anyone seen Criminal Minds' episode 12 already? Was it just me that in the begining thought it to have some things in common to my story? The ski mask, the drugs making the victims black out? Ahah xD In the end it was not similar at all, but I thought it funny. It was great great episode :)**


	10. Chapter 10

_One hour before Garcia find the society's website and, consequently a badly bruised JJ being filmed live, in a distant warehouse:_

JJ's captor had left her there, hanging, alone for a good pair of hours now, maybe more. She had lost track of time from the minute she woke up there. The blonde was weak. Although the deep cut in her leg was bandaged, she was still loosing blood.

At every deeper breath she'd take, JJ's broken ribs would scratch her lungs and each other at the fractured points causing her to squeeze her eyes in pain and breathe, involuntarily, harder, inflicting even more pain. She tried to calm herself down, lowering and controlling her breath, but that meant controlling all the pain she was feeling, and that wasn't easy… not at all.

She hadn't eaten or drank anything since she left her house the morning before. She wasn't hungry, but her lips and throat were dry. All the blood and tears loss were probably leading her body to dehydration, and she was damn thirsty. After she realized this fact it only made her more thirsty, so, without giving much thought to what she was about to do, JJ took a deep breath, ignoring the throbbing it self-inflicted, and she began shouting and calling out for her captor.

As soon as she did, the woman heard angry dogs barking outside, not very far from there. She couldn't tell how many they were, but they were definitely more than one. The black dog she had seen, wasn't his captor's only dog.

Hearing the dogs' barks she remembered the conversation she and Will had a few months back about getting Henry a pet dog. Will wanted one, he was even more excited with the idea than the little boy. But JJ refused, even if it was a little poodle, she didn't like dogs, and she had a good reason for that. But her husband wasn't going down that easily, and he knew exactly how to manipulate JJ's thoughts and, well, she loved the way he did it. He softly pulled her closer to him, his arms wrapped around her, stroking her back and sides, his mouth teasing her lips and her neck… But it was his eyes that smashed her defensive walls down, both of them knew she wasn't able to say no to his begging puppy eyes. But she didn't say _yes_ either. "I'll think about it!" was her answer.

She sighed at the memory. How badly she wanted to be in his arms now, away from that place, away from her torturer…

The dogs' barks caught the black haired man's attention and only then he heard a woman's voice calling out. Reluctantly he put his ski mask back on and went inside the warehouse and towards the back room, where he was keeping JJ.

- Shut the fuck up, will you? – he yelled back at the blond agent.

- I will… - she cleared her throat before finishing her sentence – I will if you can get me some water, I'm really thirsty.

The blonde did everything she could not to look or sound desperate or afflicted but firm and stern instead.

Still with a frown on his face, the man simply turned his back on her and left the room, leaving JJ wondering if he had just ignored her. For her relief, the masked man came in again with a plastic cup of water. Without saying a word he walked towards her and reached the water cup to her lips. She drank the liquid to the last drop so quickly that she almost stifled herself. As soon as the cup was empty the man merely turned around again, walking his way out.

- Wait! – JJ said, causing the man to stop his progression without turning around though. – Can I ask you something?

The man remained in still and silent, which she accepted as permission to continue.

- Why do you do this? Do you get off with it? Hitting people, hitting _me_… - She wasn't sure what she was doing or what she would get from it, probably nothing. But she wanted to know the reason. If she was going to die there that night she'd better know his motives and try to figure him out.

At her question he smirked and promptly restarted his route out, without a word.

- No! Don't turn your back on me! Answer the question! – JJ said in a last attempt of making him stop and turn to her.

The smile on his face grew bigger to the point his teeth showed and he burst into laughter. He made a 180 degrees spin on one foot and glanced deeply into JJ's eyes. It was the same intent look he had on his face when he pierced and slashed that knife down her arm. At his gaze she felt her entire body shiver. It terrified her.

The man slowly stepped in her direction. He got so close that the agent could feel his breath in her arm's little hairs. Devouring every inch of her body with his eyes, he softly placed one hand in the blonde's neck, caressing it. JJ felt her heart stop at his touch. Her breath too paused and was now irregular as the fear inside of her grew bigger. She didn't like that look on his face, she didn't like him staring at her almost naked body like that, but she tried to keep herself together, struggling to control her breath and the tears that threatened to leave her crystal blue eyes as soon as her skin sensed is revolting touch.

He locked his eyes on hers again and smiled. Without taking away the hand resting on JJ's neck, he started moving around her, to her back. As he did so, his arm was now wrapped around her completely.

_"Take those filthy hands off of me!"_ she wished she had screamed, but instead she kept silent, too scared to pronounce any word. Then he started saying quietly into her ear:

- Have you ever seen a fight to the death, or porn? I'm sure at least the second one you did, right? – He laughed – Well I used to love watching those things on my computer or television. I'd stay hours watching it, and it amused me. I was satisfied with that feeling, until the day I tried the real deal.

He let go a pleasured groan at the images flooding his memory, and that was when his hand started moving from JJ's neck. Without ever breaking contact with her skin, it started flowing slowly down her collarbone, to her chest, and further down, entering the blonde's bra and touching the soft skin of her left breast. JJ couldn't hold back the tears anymore. They were now rushing freely down cheeks.

- You know, fake stuff may amuse you for a while, but after you experience the real thing you just can't get enough of it. You need to cause it with your own hands, feel it with every fiber of you body. I can't help it, it just feels too good.- He continued, his hand got out of under her bra and was moving down again, stopping when it found the beginning of the burnt flesh area. – It's mostly the screams, deep, loud, painful screams, that set me off. They are just… so… overwhelming.

Whilst he said that last word he pressured all his fingers deep in her wound, pressing and scratching the burnt flesh with his nails. JJ couldn't help the deafening scream that escaped her mouth. She clutched her eyes shut and her head fell back, in agony. He kept his fingers pressing her exposed tissue for what seemed like hours whilst his other hand moved to her neck, constricting it and blocking the air to fill her lungs. She could hear him whimper in her ear. Then JJ realized how to make him stop. Trying hard to breathe, she finally managed to form the words in her lips.

- Stop it! You can't do this to me! No one ordered you to! Get off of me!

Her words swung him out of his derange. She was right. He had lost control there for a minute. That couldn't happen, it would ruin his task.

He quickly moved away from her, passing both hands through his head as he tried to clear up his mind. He mentally cursed himself, wondering around the room once or twice, looking from the floor to JJ who was still sobbing and breathing hardly. He held his clenched fist in the air, pointing it in her direction, and said:

- Don't even bother to call me again, because I will only come back when it's time!

As soon as he left the room and shut the door close behind him, Jennifer Jareau loosen all the restrains she was holding herself to and let everything out: the tears, the sobs, the terror she was feeling… She cried out to exhaustion, and when there were no more tears to shed she closed her eyes and prayed. She prayed to see her son again, prayed for her team to find her and stop her torture, stop that man. She prayed for her life.

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><p><strong>AN: Ok guys, you know what keeps me moving: reviews. And I'm not having many lately :( Please take a bit of your time and make me happy and fueled up to keep on writing this! :D**


	11. Chapter 11

_- I might have an idea! – Reid said, his eyes nailed on the computer screen in front of them._

At the doctor's words all six pairs of eyes present in the small office landed on him, intrigued.

- What? Spill it kid! - Derek Morgan said anxiously. His forehead furrowed.

- Pinky brains, if you're thinking of any way that I can track him down, I just can't, I've tried it all… JJ's phone is disconnected and I don't have enough resources to find the IP… - Garcia explained, she couldn't see which other way Reid could be thinking of to find JJ.

- That's why we need to give you enough parameters for a new and full search.

His voice was confident. The others weren't so positive about all this mystery though.

- Reid, we've tried it and we came up empty handed. – Prentiss reminded him.

- I know, but that was because we were missing something. And I think I now know what that something is. – his eyes only then turned to face the rest of the team and Will. – Tell me, what do we know up till now?

Promptly they all took turns to enumerate the useful facts they had on the case.

- He uses substances used by doctors and veterinaries to sedate his victims.

- He is in some sort of mission to climb up the society's hierarchy, looking for self-control, confidence and recognition from those that, at his eyes, decided to give him a chance.

- And he's still on that mission, he didn't fail yet, otherwise JJ would probably be dead by now. – Rossi was uncomfortable with the thought behind his own words.

- He feels no regret or pity. The fear and pain he inflicts are all that matter to him, because that gives him the physical and sexual release he needs.

Will, that had been sitting down against the office door, got up on his feet after listening to Emily's words.

- Sexual release? Did he… rape her? – the southern man asked. The tears were tempting to jump out of his eyes since the moment Garcia pulled the video streaming up on the computer. In that moment those tears jumped to his cheeks whilst his fist clenched in a sudden wave of anger that invaded his body.

- Will, calm down, he didn't rape her! That's the whole point of this. I'm guessing this man used to be a sex addict or a rapist. Entering the society is all about learning other ways of getting his release, controlling that one aspect. – Reid quickly intervened, explaining what Emily was trying to say.

Will didn't know whether he felt relieved or even angrier.

- So, you're saying that he beats JJ up just because he gets off with it? – His frowned face displayed the hurt and sorrow overflowing his heart. – I can't believe this.

A gloom moment of silence passed through them. None of them knew what to say, all of them felt the same anger towards the unjustifiable actions of JJ's sick abductor.

Then Reid decided to continue stating his point.

- What I wanted you to notice was this – he said whilst turning back to the screen and sticking his skinny arm in its direction, pointing at his blond friend's torso. – That was inflicted with a heated branding iron, I'm guessing an electric one, they are used to brand animals that will be sold, to mark their origin or their breeder.

They all looked from the doctor to the screen and back at him, waiting for more information as to where he was getting with that.

- Now, what material do you think those ropes binding her ankles are made of?

Garcia quickly clicked a few keys on her keyboard and zoomed in on JJ's feet.

- It isn't an usual rope, it's leather! – Prentiss answered, confused. – Who the _hell_ uses leather ropes?

- Leather leashes… - Reid corrected.

Once again, all eyes were on him. The profilers were now understanding where Spencer Reid was trying to get.

- You missed mentioning one thing. – the genius boy threw the bait.

- The dog… he has a dog. – Morgan completed.

- I bet he has more than one, and not as nice. – Reid said at last.

At his words, Rossi, Hotchner, Morgan and Prentiss figured out the profile. Only Will and Garcia were still clueless to how leather leashes and dogs were helpful. Their mental questions were answered not long after.

- He gets off with violence, he has access to animal control drugs and branding irons, he has dogs… - Hotch briefed. He then looked at his left wrist, where his watch was. _4:49 pm_. They had 41 minutes to find JJ before her torture begin again. _"Shit."_ – Garcia, start a new search immediately. Look for a male in his late twenties to mid fourties, that has some rape or pornography background and that is involved in illegal dog fights.

The tech and Will finally understood the conclusion the profilers had made. Garcia's agile fingers jumped from key to key at full speed, entering the data that had just been given to her.

- To keep dangerous dogs and to cause this level of torture to his victims he needs a quiet and isolated place. He wouldn't do it in his house, where neighbours would hear it. – Rossi stated. – He must have a property in an isolated area, inside DC though.

- And keeping these kind of dogs isn't peaceful. I bet he has been charged for attacks from his dogs to other dogs, or even people. And he probably doesn't have a job. I guess he makes his living from the dog fights earnings and the society's help. - Prentiss added.

They gave some more tips and the technical analyst entered them all on her powerful search engine.

_5:08 pm_

- I have one match! – Garcia said, her voice pitch higher than ever as a picture of a dark haired, brown eyed Caucasian male popped on her computer. – Thomas Bornes, 29, single, unemployed. Was in prison for two years because one of his _Staffordshire Terriers_ severely injured a woman in the street, leaving her with multiples deep wounds and broken bones in her hand, arm and leg. It's also alleged that he sells dogs for dog fighters and makes bets in this type of tournaments. He was also reported for sexually harassing two women that worked with him in his father's company, that sold and exported chemical supplies to vet hospitals.

- It's him! It has to be him! – Morgan said whilst looking at his watch for the hundredth time. _5:12 pm_. – Garcia is this company still active?

- Nop. The creeper's dad died a couple of years ago, and the company bankrupted. The warehouse still belongs to the family though. And… - she stopped for a minute as she cross referenced the addresses. – There were _at least_ to dog fights taking place in that location last year! And its location is pretty in the middle of nowhere. – Garcia concluded, pulling up a map into one of her screens.

Morgan and Prentiss both looked at Hotch, eyes wide open, as if asking him why they weren't already driving to that address.

- He is holding her there! – Morgan yelled like none of the others had reached that conclusion, which obviously they had.

Hotch finally nodded.

- Will, Rossi, you stay here with Garcia. The rest of us, lets go! – The stoic boss ordered.

Will's eyes turned dark at Aaron's words.

- What? Hotch, no! No way I'm staying here! I'm coming with you! – he said, grabbing Hotch's shoulder firmly.

Staring for a second at the man's eyes, Hotch knew there wouldn't be any way he would be able to keep him there. He then rolled his eyes, it was worth the try.

- Okay, let's go then.

- The address is on your phones, my babies. Please be careful and save our girl! – Garcia begged as she watched them leave her kingdom of knowledge.

It was a forty minutes ride from the FBI building to Thomas Bornes' warehouse. _5:22 pm_, Morgan glanced as he entered the black SUV, occupying the driver's seat. Hotch sat in the passengers seat and Will, Prentiss and Reid in the back.

_"Fuck, fuck, fuck! We wont be there in time!"_, Prentiss cursed whilst putting her seatbelt on while Morgan hit the pedal to the metal.

Back in Penelope Garcia's office, Thomas Borne hadn't shown up on camera yet, but she and Rossi knew it wouldn't take him longer to step foot in the room where JJ was.

As soon as the clock marked 5:30 pm they saw a black figure passing throw the camera, and only a moment after, the chat box on the website was enabled again. Their hearts threatened to explode in their chests. A few seconds later, the first message of that day was delivered in the chat box, causing Garcia to shake her head and cover her mouth with her hands to stop herself from releasing any shock sound.

Not long after, JJ's captor entered the video frame, with a ski mask on his head and holding the material needed to fulfil his last order in his left hand. He took something Rossi identified as a small key from his pocket and unlocked the lock restraining the chains that were binding JJ wrists to the pole. The sudden release caused the weak blonde to fall forward, on her knees. Even without sound on the video stream, Rossi and Garcia could almost hear the agonizing scream their friend let out. Garcia was still covering her mouth, tears now flowing down her cheeks and her neck. JJ stood like that, knelt, in the fetal position, without enough strength to move.

Garcia called Morgan immediately as she watched the awful scene unfolding right in front of her eyes. Thomas Bornes moved the long item through his hands, finally holding only one end of it, the thicker end.

Derek Morgan looked at the caller ID and promptly answered it, putting his phone on speaker. A panicking Garcia didn't even give him time to say anything...

Bornes raised his left arm backwards. The other tip of the item he held followed his arm's movement freely.

- Morgan! He's… He's going to whip JJ! – The tech yelled, frightened, only a moment before Bornes throw his arm forward, in a tense and strong movement. The whip on his hand hit JJ's exposed back at full speed. Her body stiffened whilst she threw her head backwards and let go a powerful aching scream.

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><p><strong>AN: Hi my fellow readers. I wasn't fully satisfied with this chapter. But anyway, here it is. Hope you like it :)**

**Oh, I have to tell you that this intriguing story his coming to an end soon [Sad face]. **

**So, please leave you review (you know I love them!) And stay tuned for more :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Finally FFnet is fixed so that I can upload this chapter! I had the story update scheduled and ready to be made last Thursday, but our dear website tricked all of us -.-**

**Anyway, hope you like this chapter, only one more to go before this fic is completed. _Please_ leave your review after reading it :)  
><strong>

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><p>Thomas Bornes knew he had almost lost his control back there, but could anyone blame him? That bitch was hard to shatter, harder than any of it's previous victims, he was actually very surprised that she hadn't begged him to kill her yet. Most of the others reached that point so easily...<p>

Not to mention her fine body… those defined curves and features made him crave for her blood so badly that he had to contain his will to stab her inside and out, more than once.

He shook his head, clearing away the derailing thoughts in his mind. The sun was settling down behind the wood's trees, letting the shadows emerge and grow, reaching the fenced area on the back of the warehouse. In there, lying silently and bored were his 9 huge dogs. With exception of the two females and Rufus, his faithful black dog, all the other creatures were raised and trained to fight. They were armed with muscled legs and necks, and powerful jaws.

And there he was, waiting for the exact hour to go back inside and enjoy himself again. There he was looking from his watch to his dogs, repeatedly, whilst a big grin filled his face as he imagined how that day was going to end. _"I know, I'm tired of waiting too, but we are almost there boys."_ he whispered to the two light brown and white Staffordshire Terriers that were hungrily slobbering while looking at him.

_5:28 pm_, Bornes checked. _"I should get going"_, he said to himself whilst an wicked smile invaded his features.

- Hello again, Jenny! How are you hanging in there? – the dark eyed man asked as he entered the room, laughing at his own evil _joke_ – By the chains, right?

JJ made an effort to lift her head up and look at the man in front of her. She was exhausted and her whole body aching, but she managed to lock her electric, raging blue eyes into her captor's.

He laughed again, walking past the camera and JJ, to the other side of the room, where the computer was. Promptly reconnecting the chat-box, Thomas Bornes looked at the screen and waited for his first task to come in. As he expected, the waiting wasn't long, and another joyful grin filled his lips whilst he read the message on the screen.

_"Get her down that pole and whip her 6x"._

Gladly, he was equipped for that. Opening a drawer on the computer desk, he found what he was looking for: another dog leash. It was perfect. The handle was made in leather, and the leash continued in that material till half of its length. The rest of the lash was made of a steel chain. He wrapped his whip around his hand and faced JJ again.

- Ready for some more fun, baby? – He teased while moving towards her.

Jennifer Jareau stared at the item in the man's hand when he stopped in front of her. What was that for? Why was he unchaining her wrists? _"Fuck"_, JJ thought whilst screaming as an excruciating pain stroke her body. Her legs tricked her and she fell on the floor as soon as her hands were released from the chains held on top of her head. She was now knelt, her forehead feeling the cold floor and her chin touching her knees. She wrapped her arms around her waist in a desperate, and yet useless, attempt of softening her body's pain.

As soon as she had relaxed from the sudden pain bolt, another loud scream was forced to leave her lungs as the metal chain made contact with the bare skin of her back, in a quick and vigorous movement, leaving it's mark where it touched. JJ clenched her fists now resting in front of her head as the throb of that sharp impact grew bigger, making her realize what was happening.

He repeated the movement two more times in a row, causing JJ to shiver in agony on the floor. She couldn't take it any more. Her hands were shaking and tears of pain were streaming down her eyes once again. She tried to crawl forward, away from the man responsible for her agony, but she couldn't. Her feet were still tied up to the pole and the broken ribs made any simple move hard to execute.

Why hadn't the team found and rescued her yet? She tried so hard to hang on, hoping for them to come, but she was losing her hope. Maybe they weren't able to find her, maybe she wasn't going to make it out of there alive…_ "Stop it JJ, you are having enough torture already, stop torturing yourself!"_, she thought to herself. She couldn't give up, especially for her son, he needed his mama to do anything she could to stay there for him. She had to slow him down, try to give her team the most time possible to find her, if that was possible...

- You're not going anywhere with this, you know? – She said, her voice not higher than a whisper.

The masked man stopped the steel chain from swinging around so that he could hear her better.

- What did you say? – He asked, with one eyebrow up.

JJ struggled to push herself up, carving her hand on the floor, shoulder width apart, pushing the ground away from her. She raised her upper body and stared at her captor.

- You think by doing this you'll be recognized and respected, you think you can keep doing this for your entire life, but you're wrong! – Her voice was now firm and completely audible. The tone she used wasn't the angelic one she normally spoke in, but the intimidating and strong one she used on press conferences or when talking to filthy UnSubs, - Sooner or later, they'll find you, and you'll rot in jail!

He looked at her for a few seconds and suddenly laughter filled the air.

- Oh, so you still think someone is going to save you, is that it? – Bornes asked, with a fake sad face as he curved slightly to touch her cheek with the palm of his hand. JJ flinched at his touch. – Do you think Prince Charming is coming to rescue you? The thing is, Jenny, I know what I'm doing _very_ well, and neither the police nor your dear FBI mates know what they are looking for.

JJ involuntarily shook her head and looked back at the floor, denying that possibility to herself. He smiled at her, moving a few steps back.

- I'm sorry Jenny, but you won't see your family and friends again. That's the inconvenient truth. This will end today for you. – he said with a chuckle whilst rolling up his sleeves.

Placing the whip correctly in his hand, ready to perform its duty, he commenced to lay on the steel chain once again.

Three more strokes were targeted on JJ's back, and soon the warm red fluid came dripping to the floor beneath her.

She couldn't avoid begging him to stop, not this once, it was too painful. What difference would it make anyway? He had already told her that she wasn't going to see the light of another day.

Her heart-rending shrieks and begging only made his cruelty grow, and each blow was harder than the previous one.

He threw the whip across the room after the whipping was completed, and he wiped the sweat coming down his neck with the collar of his shirt.

The result of his latest action were five almost parallel, long, bloody ridges along her back, and a sixth one crossing all of them, in the opposite way, from her left shoulder to the right side of her waist.

Realizing he had finally stopped, JJ leaned against the pole, finding a slight alleviation on the cool metal pressed against her cut skin. She was still sobbing.

- What is it Jenny, are you tired? – Bornes grinned, as he regained his breath.

This time JJ didn't answer him, neither she dare to look up and meet his savage gaze. Instead, she just closed her eyes, allowing a pair of tears to drip down her cheeks, neck and chest, getting mixed with her own blood on their way down.

Noticing she wasn't buying his provocation he simply went back to the computer to check what he had to do next. As he reached close enough to read the last message sent, he felt a mixed feeling of disappointment and excitement. It was too early for that, it must have been caused by his earlier control loss, _they_ had probably seen it, and were making is fun end sooner because of it. But anyway, he wanted that moment to come. The message on the chat-box was written by a 'star-member' which meant it was one of the society's Grand-Masters that wrote it, the only ones who could, in fact, give that order… the last order.

_"End her suffering, with suffering."_

Thomas Bornes drummed his fingertips on the desk for a few minutes, contemplating and processing his task. He knew what he had to do, that was his signature, what made him unique.

He glanced at the clock on the screen's left bottom corner. _5:55 pm_. That was definitely too quick. He wanted more time to make Jennifer scream. But… _oh well_, he would have her screaming to death now.

Turning back to face JJ, who was still leaning against the pole, Bornes walked over to her again. He passed a hand through her messy blond hair and bent down, pulling her chin up and forcing her to look at him.

- I guess this is over for you and me… - He whispered – Well, mostly for you.

Jennifer Jareau knew what those words meant. That was it: the end of the line for her. She only had to pray for it to be something quick. But she didn't even imagine the hell she still had to live, before peace embrace her.

He tucked a strand of blond hair behind JJ's ear and then stood up and left the room with one last statement.

- It was nice to meet you, Agent Jareau.

Ok, now _that_ didn't make any sense. Wasn't he supposed to beat her up to death or slit her throat open? Why was he leaving? _"No… he's not going to leave me here bleeding out to death, that's too slow for him, too smooth. Violence is everything to him, leaving me to die here isn't violent... He has something on his sleeve."_ That thought sent shivers through her body.

As soon as he left the room, Thomas Bornes took off his ski mask and walked to the small toilet near the warehouse's entrance doors. He stared at his reflection in the mirror. The sweat from the previous whipping he had inflicted was all over his face and hair, and he had blood, JJ's blood all over his hands and his pants. He had to change them before making his final act, otherwise, he was going to be attacked too. Turning on the tap, he washed the blood off his hands and then washed his face and neck, scrubbing the sweat away.

After that, he walked to his car and took a new pair of jeans from his go bag. The man quickly undressed the bloody ones and putted on the clean jeans.

Opening the car's front door, Bornes took his laptop from under the passenger's seat. He turned the small computer on and accessed his society's website. He couldn't stay in the room with Jenny for what was coming, but he didn't want to miss one second of it, even if that meant watching it like all the others.

Everything was settled and ready. Taking the laptop under his arm, he closed the car's door and walked to the back of the warehouse.

Hearing his steps coming closer, the dogs were startled and started barking, almost like expecting what was about to be given to them.

Those dogs obeyed him like no other. But, at the smallest sense of blood on any living creature, the years of harsh training would leave them no other choice but attacking. And their refined instincts could already smell the mouthwatering human red fluid somewhere near.

Bornes opened the three gates locking three of his most ferocious pets, and as soon as the slavering animals found their way out, they started galloping towards the source of that warm smell, contouring the warehouse's perimeter and easily finding their way in.

JJ heard rushing sounds of something running in her direction. Not long she had to wait to see three pairs of dark, piercing eyes staring at her from the door entrance, growling.

Her heart stopped.

This couldn't be happening again. Now she didn't have a gun to protect herself. Now she couldn't even try to run because her feet were tied to that _motherfucking pole_. This just couldn't be happening again!

Sensing her fear only triggered the thirsty beasts to move on her.

- No, no, no! – She screamed loudly and continuously as the three infuriated animals jumped on her and carved their jaws in any piece of flesh and bone they reached. – Aaaaahhh!

Two of the dogs laid their teeth on her left arm, biting her forearm and elbow, shaking their big muscled heads side to side, violently, ripping her skin and flesh apart. Their fangs connecting with her bones. The third animal spotted the little cloth bandaging the deep cut in her leg, and furiously tried to rip it off.

The pain was unbearable. She felt her body shut down. A cold shiver travelled through her. _"Am I dying?"_

Her peripheral vision started tapering, and before she collapsed into darkness, she started remembering that night when Reid was abducted by Tobias Hankel because she was busy being attacked by dogs. She remembered when Emily came to check on her in the bathroom and she almost shot her because of her fear. And now this was happening again... Suddenly she could see both of them, Spence and Emily, right in front of her, and the sound of three gun shots, and that same sound she heard when she shot those other three black beasts that attacked her in that barn, almost six years ago. She glanced at the blurry image of her two friends again, before finally closing her eyes.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: I'm so sorry for the late update. But I really couldn't do it earlier. So, this is it guys. This is the end! I hope it isn't too confusing with the time jumps and I hope you like it. Please review and let me know what you thought!**

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><p>- Hotch, we found her! Send the paramedics in! Quick Hotch! – Emily Prentiss yelled into the microphone attached to her Kevlar body armor.<p>

Whilst she was informing Hotch, with her gun held firmly pointing to the now dead beasts, Reid, who was right behind her, ran towards the broken figure of his best friend.

He knelt in front of her, pushing one of the dead dogs body away from her. The doctor pressed two fingers into the blonde's carotid artery, hoping to find any sign that her heart was still beating.

Once she was sure the beasts were dead, Emily followed Reid's moves and knelt on the other side of JJ's body. She had never felt so terrified in her life… JJ was just so… _lifeless._

Two tears streamed down her face while her eyes were dangling between JJ's bloody form and Reid, waiting for the doctor's reading of the blonde's artery.

The young man's eyes and hand hadn't moved for what seemed like an eternity to Emily, and that left her fearing the worse.

- Reid… - She asked, impatient and worried with the doctor's silence - Is she alive?

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><p><strong><em>Fifteen minutes earlier.<em>**

The tension inside the speeding black SUV was growing at every second. They were now entering the unpaved track into the woods. But they had lost contact with Garcia and Rossi moments earlier. There was no cell service in that area. _"Damn it"_, Morgan thought as a bump in the road made them slightly jump from their seats.

Luckily Hotch had told Garcia, minutes before they lost contact, to send an ambulance to their destination, and hopefully the vehicle wouldn't take much longer than them to get there.

- There's the warehouse! – Morgan stated as a big white building appeared in his line of sight.

Hotch made him sign to stop, with his hand, and Morgan quickly slowed down and stopped the car, turning off the headlights.

- We better go on foot now. If Bornes notices us it might lead him to kill JJ faster. – Aaron Hotchner said to the rest of them.

They heard from Garcia that Bornes had whipped JJ, and from Rossi's voice they were informed of the last message left on the chat box.

_- Morgan, you have to get there as fast as you can! The last order was sent from a Grand-Master and it says "End her suffering, with suffering". He's going to kill her! – Rossi said into the cell phone on Garcia's desk, while the tech was crying and sobbing in panic._

_- Guys, he's leaving the room! He's… - Garcia managed to scream into the speaker not long after Rossi's information. _

_She was going to say something else, but that was when they lost service. Morgan tried to reconnect with Garcia, but that was in vain._

_- Why is he leaving the room? – Will asked worried whilst grabbing the front seat to pull himself forward to be able to look at Hotch that was in the passenger's seat._

_- I don't know, but let's hope it gives us more time to rescue JJ. – Hotch replied without taking his eyes of the road._

The four doors of the SUV opened almost simultaneously and five pairs of feet stepped out. The four profilers took their guns out of their holsters. Prentiss, Morgan, Reid and Will waited for Hotch's indications.

- Here, Will, take this – the stoic man whispered as he took a small revolver from a second holster attached to his leg, beneath his pants. He handled the gun to the man and then turned back to his team. – We don't know if he's outside or inside the warehouse. And so we can't assume JJ's still inside either. So, Prentiss, you, Reid and Morgan go inside. Split yourselves there if needed. Me and LaMontagne will go around to check if Bornes is somewhere around there.

Nothing else needed to be said. With a nod all of them started walking towards the white building, guns in hand. They tried to make the least noise possible but it wasn't very effective due to the leaves and stick on the gravel ground.

They were still all together, a few steps away from the entrance doors, when a dog's barks started emerging from the back of the warehouse, and not long after they heard what looked like someone running. Morgan looked at Hotch, and what he expected was ordered. Hotch made him sign to go to the right side of the building's perimeter, and he and Will started running to the left side.

Prentiss and Reid remained still, near the entrance door, not knowing whether to stick with their previous destination or to follow Morgan and help them get whoever was running on the back.

Their decision was instantaneously made when they heard a loud scream coming from the inside of the warehouse.

- JJ! – Prentiss yelled. She started running in the direction of the screams, with Reid following her close behind.

They could see light coming from a room in the left end of the building, and that was where the screams and furious roars seemed to be coming from.

The two profilers ran to the door and found three dogs attacking their friend, whose deep blue eyes were now grey and bleak.

Emily held her gun firmly and shot the three beasts. With a whine, the dogs released their teeth from JJ's arm and legs and dropped dead, one on top of JJ, and the other two by her side, on the bloody floor.

The brunette contacted Hotch over the mic whilst Reid knelt on the left side of the blonde woman to check her pulse.

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><p>Reid, is she alive? – Prentiss asked. The tears streaming down her cheeks.<p>

The blonde's eyes were now closed, which worried Emily even more. Then Reid finally spoke, once he found what he was hoping for: a weak and soft, almost unnoticeable pulse. JJ's heart was still beating.

- She's alive! – He moved a little closer to JJ, eyes widened. He grabbed her hand. – JJ, can you hear me? JayJe, it's me, Spencer, you are safe now…

Despite his talking, JJ didn't seem to be reacting to anything.

- Hotch, where are you? We need the medics in here right now! JJ's still alive but she has lost too much blood. Where are you? – Emily yelled again into the microphone.

A second later a breathless voice came through their earpieces.

- Thank God she's alive! We caught Bornes! He was running to the highway, but we caught him. We are going back there as we speak. The paramedics have arrived and are on their way to you already. – Hotch replied.

While Reid was still trying to get some reaction from JJ, Prentiss got up and ran out of the room to point out their location to the paramedics.

- JJ, c'mon! Don't leave us. Don't leave me. – Reid said. He was still holding her hand. Suddenly he felt a small squeeze in his hand. His eyes widened at the feeling and he lifted his head to look at her face.

- Spence? – the nickname came out of her lips not louder than a whisper, as she managed to open her eyes for a fraction of seconds.

Opening her eyes was like setting fire to all her wounds, and a wave of pain sent shivers through her body. She clenched her teeth and closed her eyes shut again whilst an agonizing groan left her lips. But she hadn't been imagining things. They were really there. She was alive. They had found her.

Reid looked back to see Emily returning with the paramedics.

- Easy, easy. Yes, it's me. You'll be fine. – Reid told her, cuddling her cheek with his free hand.

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><p>JJ woke up in the hospital bed, startled from a nightmare. The blonde woman tried to move but a shudder of pain stopped her. She turned her head to her left and saw a sleeping William LaMontagne on the armchair by her bed's side, and a little blond boy on his lap, playing with the buttons of his shirt.<p>

She smiled softly. After fearing so many times she would never be with them again, it was really good to see those two there. Her family, her life.

- Hey there buddy. – She said with a weak but loving voice.

- Mommy! – the three year old shouted, jumping down of his father's lap, waking him up in the process.

The little boy tried in vain to climb onto the high bed. Will, who was now fully awake, helped him. JJ smiled to her son, and lifted her right arm to cuddle his hair.

- How are you Henry?

- Good. – the boy answered, with a worried expression while he looked at his mom's plastered left arm and the stitches in her cheek and shoulders.

- How are you feeling, Cher? – Will asked with his southern tender tone.

- I'm … - she was interrupted by a crying and simultaneously smiling and overexcited Garcia, who stormed inside the hospital room.

- JJ! You're awake! Oh my God, I thought I was going to lose you. How could I ever live without my sweetest, dearest, most caring pumpkin? – The tech almost jumped on top of her, hugging her and filling her cheek with kisses.

- Pen, you'll lose me if you keep strangling me like that. – JJ managed to say with a weak smile.

- Oh my God, I'm sorry! I am just so excited to see you awake. Did I hurt you?

Behind Garcia's shoulder JJ saw the rest of her team entering the room. And so she didn't need to answer Garcia. Prentiss and Morgan walked in first, followed by Rossi, Reid and Hotch. Reid and Prentiss were particularly glad to see that her eyes were vivid blue again.

- Hey fighter! How are you feeling? – Morgan asked.

JJ glanced at Will with a small grin. She could finally answer his previous question.

- I'm okay. I bet they drowned me well on painkillers. – the blonde forcing a smile. – How long have I been out of the world?

- Two days, sleeping beauty. – Emily answered with a tender voice.

- Technically, one day and eleven hours since you came out of surgery. – Reid corrected.

- Thanks for the detail Spencer. – JJ said, smiling.

Garcia glanced around the room and back to JJ, whose eyes were fixed on her son. But the tech knew JJ probably had questions to ask, and so did the team. And that conversation shouldn't be heard by a three year old.

- Hey my super cool godson, do you wanna go buy some doughnuts with me? – the tech teased.

- Yes! I'll bring you one mommy! – Henry said, jumping down the bed and running clumsily towards the exit door with Garcia.

JJ smiled at the picture of them two leaving the room. But once they were gone, her features turned blank and serious.

- What happened to him? – JJ asked. Although she wasn't specific, they all knew who she was referring to.

- He's probably protecting his ass against some lonely corner, in prison. And he'll, most likely, be doing that for the rest of his life. – Rossi answered in a funny tone.

JJ wasn't very glad with the news though.

- So he's alive… - the memories of his captor and what he done to her flooded her mind. He could be imprisoned but he was alive, and she couldn't avoid the fear and mostly the anger she felt. She wanted him to be dead.

Emily knew what was going through her friend's mind, so she tried to ease the atmosphere.

- Well, but he took some little reminders with him to jail, didn't he Will? – Prentiss smiled at Will.

JJ looked between them, without understanding what she was referring to. The southern man smiled back at Prentiss and then showed JJ his right hand. His fingers and knuckles were wrapped with a white bandage. She lifted her eyebrows and her mouth opened in shock.

- What happened, Will? – JJ asked.

- Nothing, - he said with a shrug – I just beat the crap out of the son of a bitch who almost killed the love of my life.

JJ smiled gently, looking down at her left unmoving arm as she remembered those terrifying beasts biting and ripping her arm apart.

The room remained in silence for a few seconds, and then JJ started speaking again.

- You know what, Will? We will never have a pet dog… Ever!

A few laughs filled the air.

Will leaned forward and placed a soft kiss into JJ's lips, caressing her face gently.

- What about a hamster? – He asked with a smile of his face.

- Sounds much better.

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><p><strong><em>The End.<em>**

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><p><strong>AN: I don't know if you're receiving many spam from this. But I had some troubles uploading the chapter, and I had to reupload it. Sorry. (Don't forget to review ;D)_  
><em>**


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